In the shadows of the city

Description

Twelve-year-old Rami moves from South Lebanon to Beirut with his family, to escape the Israeli bombings. In the city, he becomes fast friends with a few local children, including his neighbor, Yasmine, whom he falls in love with. However, the horrors of war catches up with him, when the civil war erupts. His friend is murdered in cold-blood, he gets separated from Yasmine, when her family moves away to escape the war and his father gets kidnapped by the militia. Despite his opposition to violence and warfare, Rami finds himself signing up to be a militia fighter for a different faction, in a bid to find his father. He meets Siham, a young mother whose husband had been kidnapped. In spite of the obstacles in her way, she is determined to find her husband. When his fellow militia fighters capture a prisoner and decide to kill him, Rami has to make a choice between his humanity and his allegiance to his faction, in a war that has pitted him against his own friend. Awards/Festivals: Prix Special de Jury, Cannes Junior International Film Festival; Best Film, Al Andalos Satellite, Mediterranean Film Festival; Special Distinction Award, Carthage Film Festival, Tunisia; Best Lebanese Feature Film, Beirut Media Festival, 2004.

Runtime

103 min

Creator

Chamoun, Jean Khalil. drt

Series

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

2000

Database

Alexander Street

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